Newly Used Parker 21 Special & Parker 51 Aerometric

I recently started collecting fountain pens, I suppose my shaving gear was just not enough. I have to admit, I am really digging the whole fountain pen deal. In fast I equate both Fountain Pens and Wetshaving in the same realm of thought. I find it a passionate pleasure that admittedly is not for everyone.

So after a month or so of reading about fountain pens. I have recently acquired two vintage Parker fountain pens. A Parker 21 Special and a Parker 51 Aerometric.

There was a very kind gentleman in NYC that no longer needed these two beauties and PIF’d them to me. I still can’t believe he was so generous. The nib on the Parker 21 Special needs a tiny bit of tuning. The Parker 51 nib could use replacing. Its a little worn. Not too bad, but since I am sending in the 21 for some repairs Ill shoot the 51 over as well.

Last night, I decided to work out as many of the scratches as I could. There were a bunch of scratches on the 21. If you didn’t know the 21 was made with a different type of plastic than the 51. So, the 21 is prone to scratching.

Here are a few shots of the Parkers before I worked them over last night.

Parker 51 Before:

Parker 21 Before:

So, here is how I refinished the pens. I used 1000 / 1500 / 2000 grit wet sandpaper. I slowly worked each section from 1000 up. I kept the sandpaper wet and let the slurry do the work. Very little pressure was applied and I made sure not to stray in one spot for too long. Once I made it to 2000 I switched over to Novus #2 plastic scratch remover and polish. I hand buffed each piece till there was a nice shine.

Here are some after shots…

Parker 51 After:

Parker 21 After:

Next up for this week, I am sending the pens off to get tuned up. Hopefully, it doesn’t take too long to get them back. I am already falling in love with these pens and they still aren’t in perfect working order yet.

After I get the Parkers back I will probably be giving them the once over with some 8000 / 10000 / 12000 micro-mesh. That should really improve the luster even more so. Ill make certain to keep you all updated.

Matt is an Internet Specialist for a multinational franchise. Matt has lived and worked in Hawaii, Chicago, South Florida and currently resides outside of Atlanta. He enjoys his hobbies including: Fountain Pens, Wetshaving, Clocks, Antiques & Coffee. He even roasts his own coffee weekly.